Butte Fire Explodes To 14,700 Acres, Containment Falls to 10 Percent
6:30 P.M UPDATE: Butte Fire is now 14,700 acres, 10 percent contained.
The fire has more than tripled in size over the course of four hours and containment has been cut in half.
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By Kelly Ryan
CALAVERAS COUNTY (CBS13) – Firefighters are dealing with triple-digit heat as the fire continues to move in many directions.
The Butte fire has scorched 4,000 acres and is 20 percent contained. The flames are burning on Butte Mountain Road, east of Jackson.
Six homes have been destroyed and even more evacuations were called for today after the fire grew overnight. Residents watch the dramatic plumes of smoke getting closer and hope they won't be the next forced to leave.
Ben Crocker moved into his dream home a month ago and is now ready to get out.
"We're already—everything's packed at the drop of a hat everyone could leave," said Crocker.
The Butte fire is about a mile from his backyard, and it kept him up all night.
"It just keeps doing this all night and there's no way you could sleep during this," said Crocker.
The butte fire started just down the road from him. Neighbor Mark Hirschel watched the fire move within a few hundred feet of his home.
"It was pretty scary I knew I had good clearance, a firebreak but with embers getting in trees we didn't know what would happen," said Hirschel.
Firefighters are pumping water from his pool and watching from his balcony for spot fires. Aa a former fire chief, Hirschel says it's an awful feeling watching a wildfire hit his own community.
"I just think of all the homes and the people in the livestock and everyone in the way of that and you can't much stop that," said Hirschel.
Many residents including Crocker and Hirschel are using generators after they lost power last night when flames destroyed power line PG&E crews hope to have the power back on by Thursday night.
